


lost in the trees

by tusktooth



Series: pride 2020 [5]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Graduate School, but still fantasy yk, park ranger au, some other members of vm appear briefly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:27:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24721546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tusktooth/pseuds/tusktooth
Summary: When a grad student goes missing in Seashale Mountain National Park, Ranger Vex'ahlia is sent to find her.
Relationships: Keyleth/Vex'ahlia (Critical Role)
Series: pride 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1772290
Comments: 2
Kudos: 89





	lost in the trees

**Author's Note:**

> i noticed when i finished this that despite having a completely different premise this fic is shockingly similar to the beaujes fic i posted like 2 weeks ago jdkfasflkdaljkfs whatever wlw rights!!!!!! anyway happy pride vex and kiki can should and MUST be bi! Also if you're on tumblr and you're a fic writer/artist/photo editor/gifmaker/etc or even if you just want to support these people you should consider [joining critrolenet!](http://critrolenet.tumblr.com/apply) Our applications are open until July 1st and we'd love to have some more people committed to creating for cr and supporting other content creators!  
> [come say hi on tumblr](http://twinkfjord.tumblr.com/)

Seashale Mountain National Park wasn’t the biggest national park in Tal’Dorei, nor was it the busiest, despite its proximity to Emon. Most of the visitors were outdoorsy types that lived in the city and came out for a day trip hiking the trails or relaxing on the beach, even though it was far rockier than the public beaches maintained by Emon. They’d get some campers in the summer, families looking to bond while in a field of tents at one of the two major campgrounds in the park. Those who camped in the backcountry were far less numerous, but still mostly just came during the summertime.

As much as she appreciated nature in its unspoiled state, Vex'ahlia loved the summer months the most. She loved sharing this beautiful place with other people, whether it be by telling hikers which trails were best or teaching junior ranger classes to children, or sitting on the peak and watching the wonder in visitors’ eyes when they saw the sunset on the glassy water for the first time.

From September to April, it was mostly just a small team of rangers, focused on maintaining the park and preparing for the following summer, when they’d have visitors once again. This time could get boring and Vex’ahlia did a lot of her own hiking then, with Trinket as her companion, of course. He didn’t get out much during the summer since most visitors weren’t keen on spending time around a bear, even if he was the best bear that had ever existed, in Vex’s opinion.

Vex was washing Trinket, a task in itself, with a garden hose when a knock on the side of the small cabin that she shared with her bear.

It was her boss, a halfling man named Assum who somehow managed running a national park and being on the Council of Tal’Dorei at the same time and thus was almost never around.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. “I thought you were in the city on business?”

“I was,” he replied. “And I’m technically supposed to be heading overseas to handle a few things for the Council but I was called here by some noble from Whitestone.”

“A noble from Whitestone?” she echoed. It simply didn’t make any sense. Whitestone was far to the northeast and they hardly ever had nobles visit the park at all, much less during the off-season.

“I admit, that was my reaction as well when I got the message,” he told her. “He’s concerned for a friend of his. She came here to do some independent research for her Ph.D. in environmental science or something and he hasn’t heard for her for a few weeks. I told him that long periods off the grid weren’t exactly uncommon for these research types but he insists it’s just been too long. I need you to look into it.”

“Me?” she asked. “You want me to handle a missing person case?”

It was exciting and unbelievable all at once, even if she was dealing with a missing woman. The truth was, Vex’ahlia was still kind of new to her career as a park ranger and was even newer to this park, only having worked there for about two and a half years. She was a good ranger, though, and she knew it. Unfortunately, her relatively young age caused some of the others to see it differently.

Assum shrugged. “As I said, she’s probably fine. I pulled the documentation from her permit and left it on the desk in the ranger station. If you could get started on this tomorrow morning then that would be great. You’re my best tracker, so I doubt it will be too much trouble.”

“Should I call you if I find her?” she asked.

He shook his head. “I’m going to be a bit undercover so I won’t have my phone. If she’s dead, contact Allura Vysoren in Emon. She should be able to get a message to me without raising any eyebrows.”

And then, as quickly as he had appeared, Assum left. Vex, admittedly, was a bit creeped out by his ability to so quietly and easily insert and extract himself from situations without notice. Though, she did admire his stealth.

This mission was going to be great. She was going to find this researcher and she wasn’t going to be dead and then everyone was going to praise her as the best ranger in the park. Maybe she could even take over for Assum whenever he finally realized that running the park wasn’t a good use of his time while he did so much work for the Council.

Head Park Ranger Vex’ahlia just had a nice ring to it.

* * *

The girl she was looking for was named Keyleth, no last name. According to her friend, she was a tall half-elven woman with curly red hair and green eyes. Apparently, she was actually the chief-to-be of a small tribe out east and, after she completed her thesis, she was due to take over. Her backcountry camping permit had expired nearly a week ago, so it was truly a wonder that nobody had been on this case earlier.

There was one detail that Assum had left out and, out of everything, it was probably the most important one: Keyleth hadn’t come to Seashale alone. The ranger in charge of processing her permit noted that she and another guy had applied for their permits  _ together _ . Only, he had returned and she hadn’t.

Grog Strongjaw, a massive goliath from a tribe of barbarians. He was supposedly Keyleth’s research assistant, but who could tell for sure? Maybe he hurt her and that’s why she was gone. Or maybe he had merely left her behind. Regardless, it seemed that he was the best source of information if Vex was going to find this girl, and luckily, he was staying at a hotel in town.

He wasn’t at his hotel, but the manager directed to the tavern in town, which was lively and filled with drunk people, even at only 8 pm.

Vex waved down the bartender. “I’m looking for A man named Grog Strongjaw. Big guy.”

“You’re here for the fights?” the bartender replied in a hushed voice. “I can send you under, but it’s 10 silver to watch. 10 gold to participate.”

She slapped 10 silver down on the bar. “I think I’ll just watch this time, thank you.”

The bartender took her coin and nodded to the waitress, who led her through the bustling bar and down toward a stairwell.

Down below, it was somehow even busier. People milled around a giant metal cage and cheered loudly as a large bearded goliath man, no doubt the man she was looking for, and a muscular but graceful half-orc were circling each other, glaring at one another with intensity.

Vex had never actually been to a street fight before. She was well aware they were a thing. When your twin brother used to be a member of The Clasp there was no ignoring the illegal activities that went on underneath cities of people who had no idea.

She didn’t see the point of all of this. It was brutal, watching two people tear each other apart. Sure, there was money in it, but it was also high risk. People were just too unpredictable to bet your coin on.

Since the fight was only just beginning, Vex decided to spend her time scoping out the crowd, looking for interesting characters. And, well, most of the patrons looking relatively sketchy, it being an underground fight and all.

Her attention was drawn to two gnomish figures. The man had a flute under his arm and was loudly yelling about placing bets, which didn’t set him apart from anyone else. The woman, however, didn’t look like she belonged here at all. She had stark white hair and a bright smile. A holy symbol that Vex didn’t recognize hung from her neck.

Vex decided to make her way over them.

The man grinned and clapped his hands together as she approached. “You, my friend, look like a woman who-”

“Not interested in any bets,” she interrupted before turning to the woman. “Your necklace. Which god do you worship?”

“Sarenrae,” she replied, a confused look on her face. “I’m a cleric.”

“A holy woman at an underground fighting ring?”

“What are you, a cop?” asked the man. “Because, if you are, I’m not actually taking any bets. Unless, of course, you wanted to put some money down.”

She gave him a withering look.

The cleric piped in. “It’s my friend’s big fight tonight. He’s been preparing for this fight for a while. It’s a rematch with a guy he fought in Vasselheim a while back.”

“So Grog is a religious man,” she muttered, more to herself than anything. “Or a hunter for hire.”

“He actually just does this for fun. It helps him let off some steam,” she piped in. “You know Grog?”

Vex shook her head. “No. I’ve been looking for him, though.”

“Well, he is single-” the man started.

She held up a hand to stop him without looking away from the woman. “I’m a Park Ranger over at Seashale. I’m investigating the disappearance of his friend.”

“Keyleth is missing?” the man asked with wide eyes.

She finally turned to him. “So you know her too?”

“We both do,” the cleric replied. “I’m Pike and this is Scanlan. We’re good friends of hers. Grog is her research assistant and well, he primarily just helps her with physical tasks. She brought him with to Seashale but it turned out she didn’t need his help after all.”

“I just need to have a few words with him, get his perspective on everything,” she told them. “Her friend called and said he was worried so we need to make sure everything is okay.”

“Of course,” Pike said with a nod. “Stick around until after the fight. I’m sure he’ll be willing to share.”

“For a drink, of course,” Scanlan added.

Vex glanced back over at the fighting to find both fighters bleeding and throwing punches. “I just hope he’s still up for a chat after all this.”

* * *

In the end, Grog won the fight. It was a bit grotesque in the end but there were clerics standing by to help, so neither of them walked out of the ring  _ too _ worse for wear. She didn’t have to worry about buying Grog a drink anymore because it seemed that everyone in the tavern was doing so and, since she was sitting with his group, she reaped the benefits as well.

“So, why are you here again?” Grog asked after people started fawning over him a bit less. “You’re sitting at my table but I don’t even know who you are.”

“My name is Vex’ahlia,” she told him. “I’m a park ranger over at Seashale.”

“Seashale!” he exclaimed. “I was just there with my friend, Keyleth!”

Yeah, no, this man was not her killer or kidnapper or anything of the sort. They were good friends, that much was obvious from the excitement in his voice and, frankly, he didn’t seem smart enough to fake it.

“That’s what I’m here about,” she told him. “I’m looking for her.”

“Why would you look for her here?” he asked, seemingly confused.

“I came here to find you and see if you knew anything,” she explained.

“He doesn’t,” Scanlan replied. “About anything. It’s part of his charm, really.”

Pike punched him lightly in the arm.

“I just want to know why you left the part without her,” she clarified. “And about where in the park you two were working before you left.”

“Well, I came with mostly to carry a bunch of the gear but then she said that we didn’t really need it anymore and that I could stay in town until she was done,” he told her. “And then I found out Kern was gonna be here for a fight and I had to get a rematch.”

“Did it seem like her work was almost over?” she asked.

“I happen to be an expert on all things ecologicy from working with her,” he said proudly. “She had more plants to see when I left.”

Vex took that to mean that Grog had no idea about anything other than that she was still there when he left, which doesn’t actually do anything to assist her investigation.

“Okay,” she continued. “Do you remember where you two were camping when you were there?”

“Yeah!” he said with an enthusiastic nod. “At the top!”

“The top,” she repeated slowly. “So like at the summit of one of the peaks? Up on the cliffs?”

He shook his head. “It was very foresty where we camped.”

“I don’t follow what you mean by at the top,” she told him.

“The top of the paper,” he replied.

“North!” Pike exclaimed. “I think that he means that they were camping in the north of the park, near the top of the map.”

By the grace of the Dawnfather, it was a wonder that Grog had made it back out of the park alive without her assistance. Perhaps Keyleth wasn’t very great with the interpretation of maps either and was still up there somewhere, lost and likely hungry. She had to get back to the park straight away.

“Now I have one more question, and I know it sounds a bit weird, but do you happen to have anything with her scent on it?” she asked.

Pike and Grog both turned toward Scanlan expectantly, who opened his mouth in protest and then quickly shut it. “Yeah, I stole her shoes when she was drunk a few weeks back because I thought it was funny to watch her look for them. I think I left them in my trunk.”

* * *

While Trinket’s best quality was his cuteness, he was also an excellent tracker. With a general location and Keyleth’s shoes, he wouldn’t have any trouble tracking her down. The main concern, of course, was that he would scare other campers but, since it wasn’t very busy at the moment, it was fine to take him out, especially for purposes such as these.

The other benefit of traveling just her and Trinket was that she could ride on his back, which was great for long distances because he could last a lot longer without breaks than she could, despite her training as a ranger.

It wasn’t long until he picked up on a scent and took her bounding through one of the valleys in the north, only slowing down when they were faced with quite a peculiar sight: a tiger prowling through the woods.

And well, a tiger in a forest probably isn’t always a weird thing. But tigers weren’t native to the region so either it escaped from the Emon zoo and nobody bothered to tell her or someone brought it here. Nobody had mentioned a tiger in relation to Keyleth, though, and it certainly would not have been approved to take into the park or easy to sneak through the gates in Keyleth’s tiny car, which was still parked in the lot outside the visitor’s center.

Vex subconsciously reached for her bow before remembering she had left it in her cabin, not thinking that she would have to face a beast that she didn’t know how to handle for this mission. Maybe bear spray could subdue the tiger but, then again, it was always risky to use it unless it was a last resort due to the possibility of the spray blowing back and hitting her or Trinket.

Luckily, the tiger didn’t seem to notice them, at least not yet. She patted Trinket on the back and told him to stay and started creeping through the woods after the tiger as quietly as she could. Between Assum’s mentorship and being Vax’s twin, she knew how to be stealthy without significantly slowing her pace.

To her surprise, the tiger led her to a campsite with an ashy firepit and a small tent which meant that it was somehow connected to Keyleth. Vex just hoped that said connection didn’t mean that it had eaten her. At least nothing around here looked bloody from her perch up in a tree.

But then the tiger started to transform and a beautiful half-elven woman was standing before her digging dishes out of a box. Her curly red hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she was wearing a green University of Emon t-shirt and cargo pants tucked into big hiking boots. According to the pictures she had seen, this had to be Keyleth. Everyone had neglected to mention that she was a fucking druid.

In what was not Vex’s proudest moment, her surprise caused her to fall out of the tree, yelping in mild panic as she tumbled to the ground. At least she hadn’t been that far off the ground to begin with.

“Are you okay?” Keyleth asked running toward her.

Vex held up her left arm which was bleeding from a small scrape. “Nothing dramatic. Just a bit of a scratch.”

“Here,” she said, touching the wound softly. As she did so, the skin stitched itself back together seamlessly, the cut seemingly gone.

“I didn’t realize you were a druid,” she gasped. “Well, I guess the tiger thing was what clued me in.”

“I didn’t realize I was being watched,” she replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

“To be fair I thought I was watching a tiger,” she reasoned. “One that was inexplicably far away from its native territory.”

Keyleth slapped a palm to her forehead. “I should have gone as a bear. That’s so much more discreet.”

“Probably,” she said with a small smile. This girl was kind of cute, even if she was obviously a runaway of sorts.

“Who are you anyway?”

Vex stood up and brushed herself off before offering out a hand for Keyleth to shake. “I’m Ranger Vex’ahlia Vessar. I’ve come to bring you back to civilization, unfortunately.”

“Oh no, did my permit expire!” Keyleth exclaimed in a way that was most certainly being faked.

Vex decided that getting her back to the visitor’s center was more important than questioning her motives for the time being. “Your friend with the long name called and said he was worried about you. We should get back to the visitor’s center before nightfall so you can give him a call.”

“Are you sure we can make it?” she asked. “It’s already getting close to midday.”

“Oh, we can make it,” she replied, whistling for her bear.

Trinket came bounding through the trees and nuzzled into Vex’s neck, which caused Keyleth to scream and turn into a fucking earth elemental.

“This is my bear, Trinket,” she explained. “He wouldn’t hurt a fly. Unless I asked him to, of course.”

She transformed back into Keyleth, clasping her chest and breathing heavily. “I thought he was going to eat you.”

“He would never,” she replied, scratching under his chin. “But he will carry your gear for you so that we can move a bit faster. He happens to be quite strong.”

Together, they packed everything up and secured it onto Trinket’s back and then refilled their filterable water bottles in a nearby stream before heading off back in the direction of the visitor’s center.

“What’s it like being a park ranger?” Keyleth asked after they’d been walking for a bit. “It must be nice. You’re always in nature and generally, it’s quiet for most of the year.”

Vex shrugged. “I like it well enough. Sometimes I miss my brother that lives in the city but I love my job and Trinket can live much better out here.”

“I wish I could be a ranger,” Keyleth said with a sigh.

“But you’re a druid,” she reasoned. “Don’t you still have that connection with nature?”

She nodded. “I do. And that why I’m studying environmental science too. I think that preserving nature is one of the most important things we can do as citizens of our planet.”

“It truly is,” she agreed. It was one of the reasons she had started to work in the parks in the first place.

“I’m going to have to get writing when I get back,” Keyleth said with a defeated sigh.

“Your research is finished?” she asked in surprise. She had assumed that the fact that she was still out here had meant that she wasn’t done yet.

Keyleth chewed on her lip for a moment before replying. “I’ve been done for a while. I assume if you’re here then you know I sent my assistant back with my gear a while ago but he probably didn’t realize it was  _ all _ of my research stuff.”

“So you’ve come to the woods to run away,” Vex surmised. It was a very familiar story.

She nodded, a look of shame on her face. “I’m not ready to lead the Air Ashari. I know I’m the rightful leader, the Voice of the Tempest, but my father has done so well since my mom passed and I don’t think I’ll ever measure up. I’m awkward at best and get into trouble everywhere I go. How can I lead my people?”

“You know, all your friends are quite worried about you,” she reminded her. “I take that to mean that you impact their lives positively and that you make the world a better place. Being a leader gives you a platform to teach your people kindness or to continue their current kindness, and to speak on their behalf to other powers in Tal’dorei on topics such as the preservation of nature.”

“But what if I’m not good enough?” she asked.

Vex stopped walking and grabbed her arm, turning her so they faced each other. “If you weren’t right for the job, you probably wouldn’t question taking it.”

She sighed. “That’s what Percy told me. And he’s the Lord of Whitestone so I guess he knows what he’s talking about.”

“And he knows you much better than I,” she pointed out.

“It’s just-” Keyleth ran a hand through her hair as they continued on toward the visitor’s center once more. “I’m not good at talking to people and such. What if they hate me?”

“I mean, I’m a complete stranger and I like you well enough,” she reasoned. “Your people know you better and will support you.”

“It’s so much easier to sit here and watch the sunset from the cliffs,” she said.

“It is,” Vex agreed. “But just because something isn’t easy doesn’t mean that it’s not worth doing. Training to be a park ranger wasn’t always a cakewalk but I’m happy that I’m here. Besides, being the leader of your tribe doesn’t mean that you can never come back and watch the sunset here again. Even the most illustrious leaders take some vacation time.”

“Maybe next time I can bring my friends.”

“Please do. I’ve met a few of them in my search for you and they’re quite interesting,” she told her. “Your research assistant particularly so.”

“He’s pretty much the sweetest one, believe it or not,” she said with a smile. “Well, Pike is also really sweet. She has a hidden wild side though, trust me.”

“You’re a very eclectic group,” she said with a laugh. “I wish a had a friend group like yours. My friend group pretty much consists of my brother and his boyfriend and they’re both in Emon.”

“What about the other rangers here?” she asked.

Vex shrugged. “We get along well enough but I’m not particularly close with anyone. My boss is like a mentor to me, but he’s barely around anyway due to other commitments.”

“Well, then I’ll have to come back here and keep you company,” she said, her face turning red after a moment. “I mean me and my friends will. So you have friends. Because we can all be friends.”

She laughed. “That sounds lovely, Keyleth.”

They continued their walk toward the visitor’s center talking and laughing. It had been a long time since someone was genuinely interested in Vex’s life and it was refreshing to talk to somebody her own age that was interested in a lot of the same things she was. What’s more, Keyleth’s initial awkwardness seemed to melt away with time, leaving only the genuine connection they had built over the course of the afternoon. Maybe this was a weird thing to say about someone she’d only just met, but she didn’t want to say goodbye.

When they reached the visitor’s center, Assum was waiting there.

“You’re back already?” she asked with surprise. “Aren’t you supposed to be overseas?”

“My colleagues convinced me that a missing person’s case was more pressing,” he explained. “I told them that I had my best ranger on it and that she’d be found within the week and I was right so maybe next time they’ll actually allow me to do my job.”

Vex beamed a little at the praise. “Well, I was just doing my job in finding her.”

“Well, I’ve got some paperwork for her to fill out but you’re good to go,” he told her. “Take a shower and relax. You’ve got the rest of the day off, paid.”

She nodded and took off toward the ranger station with Trinket. She did feel sweaty and gross so a shower would do her some good. And she kind of wanted to take a nap.

* * *

After her shower, she went over to her kitchen and put on a kettle for some tea. A knock on her door caused her to head back toward the front of the cabin, where someone had slipped a piece of paper under the door. She unfolded it to find Keyleth’s name and a phone number scribbled on it as well as a reminder that she would be in Emon for the next few weeks to finish up her degree in case Vex wanted to go out on a date.

Vex threw the door open only to find Keyleth walking briskly away from the door.

“Wait!” she called. “Come have a cup of tea!”

Keyleth turned around and blushed before walking back toward her cabin. “I mean, I really need a shower right now. I don’t want to stink up your whole cabin.”

“You can use mine and borrow a change of clothes,” she said with a shrug. “We seem around the same size.”

“I- I don’t want to intrude,” she mumbled. “And then if I leave in your clothes I’ll have to send them back somehow.”

“Then I know you’re good for a date in Emon when I call you,” she said with a wink.

Somehow Keyleth’s face got redder which was admittedly cute and made Vex smile. Who knew that a missing person’s case would bring her a new friend and, hopefully, something more.


End file.
